Contract: MacAulay-Brown, $30.9M

MacAulay-Brown Inc., Dayton, Ohio, is being awarded a $30,913,181 contract modification that exercises the first option year of the original contract. The option modification provides the same intelligence services to process, exploit and disseminate support services for Headquarters, Air Force Special Operations Command. The location of the performance is Hurlburt Field, Fla. Work is expected to be completed by Jan. 15, 2014. The contracting activity is AFSOC/A7KQ, Hulburt Field. (Source: DoD, 12/31/12)

The year in review

No doubt the headline-grabber for the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor in 2012 was the decision of Europe's Airbus to build a $600 million A320 assembly line in Mobile, Ala. It will forever change the face of the already considerable aerospace activity in this region. But there were other significant aerospace stories for the region, including major steps in development of NASA's Space Launch System, progress in establishing the F-35 training center, an uptick in unmanned systems activities and corporate moves that over the long-run will have an impact on the region. (Source: Gulf Coast Perspectives, 12/29/12)

Contracts: Lockheed Martin, $5B

Lockheed Martin, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded five contracts related to the F-35 with a total value of some $5 billion. The first is a not-to-exceed $3,677,916,910 undefinitized modification to the previously awarded low rate initial production lot 6 advance acquisition contract for the procurement of 18 conventional take-off and landing aircraft for the Air Force; six short take-off vertical landing aircraft for the Marine Corps; and seven carrier variant aircraft for the Navy. The modification provides for all associated ancillary mission equipment. Work will be completed in February 2015. The second is a not-to-exceed $753,420,000 undefinitized modification to the previously awarded F-35 low rate initial production lot 6 advance acquisition contract to provide non-recurring sustainment and logistics support for delivered and projected air systems. This modification includes site stand-up and depot activation activities and the procurement of Autonomic Logistics Information System hardware and software; training systems; support equipment and spares. Work will be completed December 2015. The third is a not-to-exceed $374,495,232 undefinitized modification to the previously awarded low rate initial production lot 6 advance acquisition contract the manufacture and delivery of initial air vehicle spares in support of 60 low rate initial production lot VI and VII air vehicles (37 Air Force conventional; 12 Marine Corps short take-off aircraft; and 11 Navy carrier variants. Work will be completed November 2015. The fourth is a $48,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to perform engineering, programmatic, and logistics tasks supporting investigations or studies to determine the feasibility, practicality, desirability, or supportability of various F-35 air systems. Work will be completed December 2015. The fifth is a not-to-exceed $17,106,385 undefinitized modification to the previously awarded low rate initial production lot 5 contract. This modification provides for the manufacture and delivery of initial air vehicle spares in support of LRIP lot 5 air vehicles for the Air Force. Work will be completed in November 2015. Work on all five contracts will be done in Texas, California, Florida, New Hampshire, Maryland and the United Kingdom. The Naval Air Systems Comman, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/28/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Contract: Bell-Boeing, $1.4B

Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $1,405,744,559 modification to the previously awarded V-22 lot 17 advance acquisition contract for 17 fiscal 2013 MV-22 tiltrotor aircraft for the Marine Corps and four fiscal 2013 CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft for the Air Force. In addition, this modification provides funding for long lead components required for the manufacture and delivery of 19 fiscal 2014 lot 18 MV-22 tiltrotor aircraft for the Marine Corps and three fiscal 2014 lot 18 CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft for the Air Force. Work will be performed in a wide range of locations and is expected to be completed in September 2016. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/28/12) Gulf Coast note: Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla., uses CV-22 tiltrotors.

New exec has F-35 background

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- A retired rear admiral and former Lockheed Martin F-35 executive has been appointed executive vice president of shipbuilder VT Halter Marine. John J. Prendergast III, who spent more than 30 years in the Navy, will be responsible for a range of activities, including government contracts. After retiring from the Navy, Prendergast was named director of sustainment business operations for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter with Lockheed Martin. VT Halter Marine, with operations in Pascagoula and Moss Point, designs, builds and repairs a variety of ocean vessels. (Source: Mississippi Press, 12/26/12)

Contract: Composites Eng, $32.8M

Composite Engineering Inc., Sacramento, Calif., modification number P00007 is being awarded a $32,834,295 contract modification for the Lot 9 Sustainment and Lot 10 Production in support of the Air Force sub-scale aerial target program. The location of the performance is Sacramento, Calif. Work is expected to be completed by Apr. 30, 2014. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/EBYA, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: DoD, 12/26/12)

S. Korea buying Global Hawks

The Defense Department has proposed selling South Korea four Global Hawk surveillance drones in an order valued at $1.2 billion. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it notified Congress of the proposed sale, which includes infrared and electro-optical sensors, imagery analysis systems and moving target indicators on board the Block 30 Global Hawks. The sale would be the first order in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia has expressed interest in buying the aircraft but has yet to place an order. (Source: Bloomberg, 12/24/12) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are made in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Work to begin on SLS core

NEW ORLEANS -- Construction is set to begin at Michoud Assembly Facility on the major components of NASA’s Space Launch System, which will transport astronauts to deep space. The work is expected to bring hundreds of high-paying jobs to the Michoud when construction reaches its peak, starting next year and leveling off in 2015. The rocket's core stage will be built at Michoud, and the engines that will power the vehicle will be test-fired at Stennis Space Center, Miss. In Huntsville, Ala., a technical review of the core stage, called a preliminary design review, was successfully completed at Marshall Space Flight Center Thursday. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, NASA, 12/21/12)

Contract: Boeing, $118M

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $118,049,122 firm-fixed-price contract to procure Lot 17 Guided Vehicle kits for the Joint Direct Attack Munition weapon system. The location of the performance is St. Charles, Mo. Work is expected to be completed by March 31, 2015. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: DoD, 12/21/12)

Orion backup chute tested

NASA completed the latest in a series of parachute tests for its Orion spacecraft Thursday at the Army Yuma Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona, a step toward a first flight test in 2014. The test verified Orion can land safely even if one of its two drogue parachutes does not open during descent. Orion, which will take humans further into space than ever before, uses five parachutes. The 21,000-pound capsule needs only two main parachutes and one drogue. The extra two provide a backup in case one of the primary parachutes fails. The next Orion parachute test is scheduled for February and will simulate a failure of one of the three main parachutes. (Source: NASA, 12/20/12) Gulf Coast note: The Orion capsules are built in New Orleans; Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests the rocket engines for the Space Launch System.

OFP awarded for test program

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force was recently recognized with the Ferguson Award for Engineering for developing F-15 aircraft modernization system, Suite 7E. Suite 7E included software for the newly developed F-15 missile capability, the AIM 120D. The system has been approved by Air Combat Command to be operational on all 219 F-15s nationwide. The F-15 OFP CTF at Eglin is part of the 53rd Test Management Group and 46th Operations Group and is responsible for testing F-15 software upgrades to enhance air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. With the continued development of the F-22 and F-35, the plan is for the F-15 to be around for a while. OFP CTF is the first organization from Eglin to win the award since its inception in 2003. (Source: Eglin Public Affairs, 12/20/12)

GE buying Avio aerospace

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- GE has agreed to purchase the aviation business of Avio S.p.A., an Italy-based manufacturer of aviation propulsion components and systems for civil and military aircraft, for $4.3 billion. GE will acquire Avio's aviation business from Cinven, a European private equity firm that has owned Avio since 2006, and Finmeccanica, the Italian aerospace group. The transaction is subject to regulatory and governmental approvals. GE will not be purchasing Avio's space unit. (Source: Business Wire, 12/21/12) Gulf Coast note: GE Aviation is building an aircraft parts plant near Hattiesburg, Miss.; Finmeccanica owns Selex Galileo in Kiln, Miss.

County OKs incentives

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Mobile County Commission approved contributing $24,000 toward a compensation package to bring Airbus supplier Labinal Engineering Inc. to Mobile. The contribution is part of $106,000 in incentives made to the engineering company by the city, county and state in recent weeks. Labinal is a subsidiary of Safran Engineering Services of France. The company plans to build a $2 million engineering center at Brookley Aeroplex. Airbus is building an A320 assembly line in the city. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/20/12)

SSC deputy director named

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Jerry Cook has been selected as the deputy director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, the agency's primary testing ground for rocket engines and propulsion systems, and its systems engineering center for applied science activities. Cook served as the associate program manager of the Space Launch System (SLS) Program Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. He has served in a dual role as manager of the SLS Program Planning and Control Office. (Source: NASA/SSC, 12/20/12)

Contracts: Northrop, $52.5M

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of San Diego, Calif., was awarded two contracts related to the MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing unmanned system. One was a $19,166,627 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for logistics services, and the other a $33,270,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the development, production, integration, and testing of nine radar systems. Work on both contracts will be done in San Diego, Calif., and Patuxent River, Md., with the first expected to be completed in November 2013 and the second in June 2014. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/20/12) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Lockheed Martin marks 100 years

BETHESDA, Md. -- Lockheed Martin is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Lockheed Company, incorporated Dec. 19, 1912, in San Francisco, Calif. Brothers Allan and Malcolm Lockheed founded the company out of a garage, where they built their Model G seaplane. Their second plane, the F-1 Flying Boat, earned the company its first military contract. In 1995, Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta, also founded in 1912 as the Glenn L. Martin Co., to form Lockheed Martin. The Martin anniversary was celebrated in August. Lockheed Martin employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. It had net sales in 2011 of $46.5 billion. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 12/19/12) Gulf Coast note: Lockheed Martin has operations in the Gulf Coast region, including the Space and Technology Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. It's the builder of the F-35, which has a training center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

AF can use more state land

The Air Force will be allowed to conduct non-hazardous missions on additional state-owned land. The state Department of Environmental Protection agreed last week to let the Air Force us pockets of land across the region. The agreement is part of an effort to ease competition for range space on Eglin Air Force Base’s 450,000-acre reservation. In October, the Air Force signed its first agreement to use Florida Forest Service land. The Air Force plans to sign a similar agreement with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the near future. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/18/12) Previous

Scott lauds L-3 expansion

CRESTVIEW, Fla. -- L-3 Crestview Aerospace and Gov. Rick Scott said the company will create 340 jobs within two years through the expansion of the company's manufacturing operation in Okaloosa County. The project is an investment of more than $13.7 million, including $7 million in facilities upgrades and the retrofit of hangar space at Bob Sikes Airport in 2013 and 2014. L-3 first announced the $7 million upgrade in November. (Source: Governor’s office, 12/18/12) Previous; Related column

County gives nod to sue Vision

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Okaloosa County commissioners voted to sue Vision Airlines to get more than $146,000 in unpaid fees. Airports Director Greg Donovan was authorized to work with county attorneys to take Vision to court if it doesn’t pay by Dec. 31. Vision Airlines, which began offering flights at Northwest Florida Regional Airport in 2010, stopped service locally in February. Most of the money is for unpaid passenger facility charges, and the rest is unpaid utility, rent and fuel expenses. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/18/12) Previous

Contract: Boeing, $8.9M

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $8,916,113 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for procurement of Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB) retrofits, LSDB guided test vehicles, production, engineering, integration and test support and storage/shipping containers. The location of the performance is St. Louis, Mo. Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/PZJ, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: DoD, 12/18/12)